Capital construction



, 8 r/d w 5 l ...n 1 6\\.v w Y i n. n .y 5 A w P w 2 zu 0l 0 zu J 27J W 3 2 5 Z Patented Feb. 28, 1928.

UNITEDy STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY IBARKSCHAT, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO MARBELITE COR- PORATION OF AMERICA, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION 0F DELA- WARE.

CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.

Application tiled April B,

This invention has to do generally with structural characteristics of capitals such as are used in connection with ornamental lighting standards and the like, and is more particularly concerned with capitals which are made up oit a main body member and separable elements.

In its broader aspects, the invention applies to means for joining these members and elements irrespective of the nature of the latter, thaty is, they may either be lighting fixtures attached directl to the capital or they may be made up o'l one or more ornamental members interposed between the capital body portion and lighting" iixtures. Or the separable elements may be merely ornamental in nature, but having such characteristics that 'it is a matter ol `dilliculty to mold them integrally with the body member. l

F or the purpose ol illustrating a typical embodiment ot my invention, I have shown a capital made up of a main body member having detachable pendant elements and detachable pedestals, the pedestals being in alinement with the pendants, but on top the capitals', and being adapted to support lighting finiture. However, by thus coniining the drawings and description to these particular'ities ol:y construction, and further showing and describing the capital and its separable elements as being made oi concrete, I do not wish to infer that my broader claims are limited thereto.

In my `co-pending application entitled Lamp post structure, Serial No. 11,054,1iled Feb. 9.4, 1925, and linally allowed September 14, 1925, I have shown a junction box set in the body member of the capital, and from this junction box extend curved conduits. These conduits project vertically above the capital top and serve as means for making connection between the capital body and tixture supporting blocks. The curved conduit and junction box there shown are cast within the main bodymemlileij'` of the capital,

iirst to set the shalt portion ot the standart',

and then hoist the capital to its position on top ott' the shalt. W'ere the capitals to be made in one piece or to be made of separable units having such a type of connection` as would require shop assembly, it would bea mattei' olf great difficulty fully to erect a standard, and there would be every likeli-k hood ot damage to projecting or relatively delicate parts of the capital during erection. By virtue oi the simple assembly provision herein shown, it is a matter of comparative ease to mount the body portion ot' the capital on the shalt and then independently attach the separable units or element, even though the workman be supported by ladder or scatlolding. y

@ther objects and novel features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a medial sectional View, partially in elevation, showing a structure embodying my invention; t

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary detail of one of the junction boxes and associated members. y the stippling which represents concrete being omitted in order to avoid confusion; and

i Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a variational form of pendant attachment.

In the drawings the numeral lOdesignates the upper part ol ahollow, concrete shaft, though it will be understood the present invention is not limited to a supporting shaft of any particular nature.

Numeral 11 designates generally the main or body member of capital C, preferably of concrete, this body portion including nec l2, and lateral cross arms 13. Set, and preferably cast centrally in body portion 11, is a metal junction box la, the interior of which is accessible -from the outside of the capital. This junction box, in addition .to serving the purpose ot allowing the distribution oi wires 'W to the lighting fixtures, also provides means whereby body portion 11 is secured to shai't 10. rllhe method of this securement is not essential to the present invention, but l have shown securing means similar to that described and claimed in the aforementioned, eo-pending application. rihis means may be briefly described as a barrier or lock plate 15 extending across bore 16 of shaft 16, and a tubular tension rod 17 which extends into box 14 at 18 and has at its lower end a locking head 19 adapted to engage beneath plate 15. Nuts 2O are threaded on rod 17 where it extends within box 14, and holds the body member to the shaft.

Set in arms 13 near their extremities are junction boxes 21, the interior 22 or" each box communicating with the interior ot box 14 through conduit 23, nuts 24 being threaded on the conduit at opposite sides ot the opposed walls of boxes la and 21 to hold the boxes in predetermined relation during the castincr ot' the body portion.

The upper ends oi boxes 21 open to the upper taces of arms 13 and are preferably closed by removable caps or plates 25 after wires TW have been drawn trom the bore of shaft 10 through tubular tension rod 17, junction box 14, conduit 23, and into the interiors 22 of boxes 21. Caps 25 have a central, threaded bore 26, and may be detachably secured to flanges 27 of boxes 21 by bolts 28. A tubular rod 29 is threaded into bore 26, and serves as a conduit lor wires W which are drawn upwardly through said rod. Separable capital member or pedestal 30 has a bore 31 which is adapted to take rod 29, the pedestal having a counter-bored base portion 32 which covers box cap 25. Nut 33 is threaded down on rod 29 into engagement with the upwardly facing shoulder 34, provided at the bottom of pedestal bore 35, holding the `pedestal against displacement with respect to cross arm 13. Lighting tixture support 36 is bolted at 37 to the upper end of pedestal 30, wires W extending to compensator l?, which is suspended from support 36. Lamp socket S, lamp L and globe G are supported by member 36 in the customary manner.

It will be seen that cap 25 is, in eiect, a plate set in body portion 1l, and that by virtue of its threaded bore, and the fact that said bore opens into the interior of the box, rod 29 may be threaded longitudinally into the interior of the box, there being no necessity :for limiting the longitudinal thread engaging movement o1e the rod, Within reasonable limits. This is in contradistinction to the type of solid barrier plate cast Within a solid body member, where, unless there be provided a cored out portion below the threaded bore, the attachment rod can only be threaded through the plate and not therebeyond, thus necessitating` certain limitations and niceties of construction which are to be avoided as :tar as possible, as will be readily understood. The box 21, and hence plate or cover 25, is held against rotation within member 11, both by reason oi" being cast in the body member and by reason of its attachn'lent to box 14 by conduit 23.

The use of a box-like securing means is advantageous also for the reason that it provides unitary means for attaching a plurality ot separable members to the body member, and that the rods extending from said separable members to the box may be in axial alinement and yet movable through the box towards and away Yfrom each other in the directions of their axes.

Thus, l have shown a separable member in the orm ot an ornamental, concrete pendant 38, the pendant, box 21 and pedestal 30 preferably, though not necessarily, being in axial alinement. Pendant 38 has a bore 39 extending longitudinally therethrough, the bore being adapted to take attachment rod e0. Rod 40 is passed up through bore Ll1 in arm 13 and its end 40a is adapted to be threaded into bore 42 provided in the bottom wall or plate Li3 of box 21, bore 112 preferably, though not necessarily, being in axial alinement with bore 26 in the spaced and oppositely disposed plate 25.

A nut elfi, preferably of metal and-o1c an ornamental nature, is adapted to be threaded on the lower end 40" ot' rod 40, the nut holding the pendant with its upper end in engagement with the lower face of arm, 13,V

or, expressed otherwise, holding the pendant. against movement longitudinally along the rod in one direction.

ln Fig. 3 I have shown a' variational pendant construction, wherein attachment rod 410C is cast within pendant, 38a, the upper threaded extremity 40a of the rod being adapted to be engaged threadably with bottom plate 43 of box 21 by rotation of the entire pendant. This construction eliminates the necessity of providing a retention nut such as 14C in Fig. 1.

Numeral designates an ornamental separable member through Which extends attachment rod 51, the lower, threaded end 52 of this rod being` passed through a bore in top w-all 53 ot box ll, and` being provided with a retention nut 54C below this wall. Rod 51 carries a sleeve nut 55 at its upper end, and a capping, ornamental member 56, has cast therein a bolt 57, the bolt being adapted to be threaded into sleeve 55, to hold members 50 and 56 in assembly on body member 11.

las

It will be noted that each of the attachment rods mentioned above is'detachably connected to the particular box it enters, in contradistinction to the curved conduit shown in the aforementioned (2o-pending application which conduit, serving as connecting me-mbers between the main body and pedestal members, cannot be disconnected from their associated junction boxes.

It will be understood the drawings and description are to be considered merely as illustrative ot' andnot restrictive on the broader claims appended hereto for various changes in design, structure and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of said claims.

I claim:

1. Ina post capital embodying a body member and a separable member, means detachably connecting the members and including a box set in the body member, and a rod extending at one end into the separable member and extending at its other end` into a bore provided through one of the box walls and being detachably connected to the box.

2. In a post capita'l embodying a body member and a separable member, means detachably connecting the members and including a plate set in the body member, a rod extending through the separable member and into detachable connection at one end with the plate, and detachable means near the other en-d of the rod and adapted to hold the separable member against movement longitudinally along the rod away from the body member.

3. In a post capital embodying `a body member and a separable pendant member, means detachably connecting the members and including a plat-e set in the body member and held against rotation with respectthereto, a vertical rod in the pendantand detachably lsecured to the plate, and detachable means near the other end of the rod adapted to hold the pendant against movement longitudinally along the rod away from the body member.

Il. In a post capital embodying a body member and a pair of separable members arranged one above and one below lthe body member, means adapted to hold the members detachably together and including a box set in the body member, and a rod in each of the separable members, said rods beingdetach ably connected to opposite walls of the box.

5. In a Jostl capital embodying .a body member and a pair of separable members arn ranged one above and one below lthe body member, means adapted to hold the members detachably together and. including a box set in the body member, and a rod in each of the separable members, said rods being threaded into bores provided. through opposite'walls of the box.

6. In a post capital embodying `a body member and a pair of separable members arranged one above and one below the body member, means adapted to hold the members `detachably together and including a box set in the body men'iber, a removable cap for said box, a rod in each ot' the separable members, one of said rods being tubular and Vbeing threaded into a bore provided through said cap whereby the bore of said one rod is in communication with the interior of the box, and a rod in the other separable member and hreadedly connected to anotherwall of the 7. In a post capital embodying a body member and. a separable member, means detachably connecting thev members and including a junction box set in the body member, a removable cap for the box, and a tubular rod in the separable member and detaehably connected to the cap, the rod bore communicating with the interior of the box.

In witness lthat I claim the foregoing I` have hereunto subscribed my name this 26th p day of March 1926.

HENRY BARKSCHAT. 

